Clapotis Gaufré
by Masonyellow
Summary: "Goodbye, little one. Sorry this has to happen. May fate lead you to the love you deserve, and destiny keep you safe." A regretful voice whispered out while gently rocking an infant into deep sleep.


**Unknown POV**

"Goodbye, little one. Sorry this has to happen. May fate lead you to the love you deserve, and destiny keep you safe." A regretful voice whispered out while gently rocking an infant into deep sleep. With one final kiss on soft tuffs of hazel hair, the cloaked dark shadow waved out a dark green puff of smoke and faded away into the night, leaving a bundled up infant on the dark unlit porch of the Storybrook town hall.

**Snow's POV**

Snow groaned in annoyance outside her house as she dug through her handbag looking for her house keys and phone. Just her luck that of all nights, it had to be tonight that David and Emma were still out, and Ruby had a late night shift at the diner. With no choice but to head back out to her office, she stomped back down to her car and peeled out of the driveway, heading back to the town hall.

Leaving the heat running in her car, Snow bundled up an extra layer of scarf and dashed out into the chilly night air. Running up the dark steps of the town hall entrance, Snow nearly tripped over what appeared to be a balled up bundle of cloths. "What the hell?" Snow grumbled as she cautiously bent over to inspect the obstruction blocking the door. Due to the lack of lighting, Snow decided to nudge the unknown lump of cloth with her foot instead, just to be safe. When a small whimpering sound came out softly in response to Snow's foot nudge, Snow went into panic mode and leaned down quickly to inspect what was hidden beneath the mass of cloths.

"Oh my god..." Snow gasped out when she laid eyes on what appeared to be a little whimpering baby. With trained reflexes, Snow gently picked up the baby and started rocking it while making soothing noises. Digging into her pocket, Snow took out the office key to unlock the front door and headed straight down the hallway into her office. Turning on the lights, Snow sighed in relief that it was still warm inside, and swiftly walked over to her desk and placed the now quiet baby down on her desk. Upon closer inspection under better lighting, it appears the layers of cloths that has the baby bundled was one long fleece blanket with some embroidery sown onto it. Underneath all those layers was a sight that both broke and melted Snow's heart. There laying on her office desk was the sight of a naked chubby little baby girl with olive skin looking up at her with big soulful chocolate orbs under thick lashes. Snow smiled down at her, and stroked over her adorable small tuff of hazel locks on the top of her head. "Hey there, cutie. Where did you come from?" Snow cooed out softly more so to herself than to the little baby in front of her. The baby gave her a gummy smile in response, melting Snow further, then proceeded to grip one of her own little feet in her chubby hands, and started gumming on it in her mouth. Snow laughed at how adorable she was and just spent a few moments observing her.

It both angered and worried her that someone would be so reckless to leave such a vulnerable little baby out in the cold dark night. It scared her to think what would have greeted her in the morning, if she hadn't come back to the town hall tonight to collect her forgotten house keys and phone. Shaking herself out of the what ifs, Snow quickly re-wrapped the baby girl, and cuddled her up close to her chest.

Picking up her forgotten keys and phone, Snow called the first person that popped into her mind.

"Hey, Snow. What's up? Is everything ok? You know I'm at work right? Is everyone okay?" A worried voice rambled.

"Hey, Tori. Yes, Emma and David are fine. So is your girlfriend. But I urgently need to see you in the hospital right now. I found a baby outside on the cold porch of my office. She seems fine, but I'm worried. I'll be there in 5 minutes." Snow rushed out as she headed out to her car with the baby in one arm. After securing the baby in Emma's car seat as well as she could, she drove quickly but cautiously towards the hospital.

**Victoria's POV**

Pacing back and forth inside the lobby of the hospital, a million thoughts ran through Victoria's mind. After receiving the rushed phone call from Snow about an abandoned baby, Victoria couldn't help but already feel attached to the baby. She herself was also an abandoned baby. Although she was lucky enough to be adopted into a loving and supportive home, and her girlfriend Ruby was beyond amazing, she had always felt an insecurity in a small part of her heart that nobody could ever fully understand or resolve.

"Dr Whale, are you okay? What are you doing here?" Ashley asked with a playful curiosity, breaking Victoria out of her thoughts.

"Hey, Nurse Ashley. I'm waiting for Snow. She found an abandoned baby on the front porch of the town hall not long ago, and she's bringing it here for a check up." Victoria explained with a slight frown. Ashley gasped in shock of the unexpected news, and quickly walked over to where Victoria was standing. Being one of her best friends, she knew this incident was affecting the blond doctor more than just sympathy for an abandoned baby.

"That is horrible, Tori. Lucky Snow found the baby in time. Can I do anything to help? Any preparations needed for our upcoming new patient?" Ashley asked while giving Victoria a quick squeeze on her shoulder to relay the unspoken message that she's there if she needs her. Victoria gives her an appreciative smile to acknowledge her silent support and nodded her head.

"I don't know anything about the condition of the baby yet, so perhaps for now just prepare an extra warm private room where we can have some uninterrupted privacy?" Victoria suggested. Ashley nodded in understanding and promptly went off to do exactly that.

Sighing with impatience, she walked out of the ER in hopes of finally catching sight of the mayor's car. To her relief, after a few more minutes of suspense, Snow's car finally pulled up. With hurried steps, Victoria met Snow who quickly got out of the car and opened the passenger door behind her to unbuckle and carry out the bundled up baby.

"Hey Tori, thanks for meeting us out here. Do you mind bringing her inside first. I need to call David to let him know what's going on so he doesn't get worried." Snow said as she passed the precious bundle gently over to Victoria. Victoria carefully cradled the baby in her arms and nodded to Snow.

"Sure, take your time. Please tell Ruby I'll be slightly late for dinner too. This baby will be my last patient for the night, and she is in safe hands now." Victoria replied not taking her eyes off the beautiful girl she was holding. Snow eyed her curiously, but shrugged it off for now as she proceeded to call her husband.

Walking cautiously, Victoria headed into the ER. Finally taking her eyes off the precious baby, she looked up trying to spot where Ashley was. Spotting said nurse waving at her down the corridor, she hurriedly walked towards her. Once they've both entered the well equipped clinic room, she gently laid the baby on the table and proceeded to unbundle her. Once free from the restraints of the blanket, both ladies swooned at the adorable sight of the chubby little baby giving her cute little limbs a massive stretch outwards.

"Oh, she is too adorable! Look at those chunky thighs and arms. I just want to eat her up!" Ashley squealed as she leaned closer to the baby to lightly squeeze her little feet. Victoria laughed softly at her friend's antics, but tried to act composed herself. She definitely was swooning inside as well at the adorable sight of this baby girl, but she needed to stay professional in the present moment in order to properly evaluate the health condition of her little patient.

"Okay, Nurse Ashley. Can you tone it down a few notch with your baby fever until after we give our new patient a proper health assessment?" Victoria said with a humorous tone. Ashley huffed childishly but did as was requested by the blond. Victoria shook her head in amusement and proceeded with the check up.

After doing a series of basic physical assessments, they both sighed in relief that all the baby's vitals seemed normal. From an educated guess, the baby would appear to be around five months old.

"Well, little cutie. It appears you are well and healthy. Shall we give you a nice warm bath, then get you dressed and fed?" Victoria softly said as she tapped the baby on the nose. Getting a nose crinkle in response, Victoria smiled and picked up her little patient, taking her over to where Ashley has drawn up a warm bath for her.

"Do you want me to wash her?" Ashley offered enthusiastically. Victoria felt a surprise wave of possessiveness, and shook her head. "No, I got it from here. Why don't you let Snow know where we are and help me prepare a bottle of milk for her. Also find her a set of warm clothes and diaper while I finish up here."

Ashley quirked an eyebrow at her strangely, but did as she instructed. Once the door shut behind the nurse, Victoria released a breath she didn't know she was holding. Looking down at the beautiful girl who was staring up at her, she gave her an affectionate smile.

"Hey there, baby girl. Let me introduce myself." Victoria began as she gently placed the content baby in the bath and started washing her with the white flannel. "My name is Victoria Whale. My close friends and family call me Tori. I'm 28 years old and as you can see, I'm a MD here at Storybrook general hospital. I have a beautiful girlfriend named Ruby who owns the best diner in town, and we live in a cozy home next to Snow. She's the pixie lady who found you and brought you here. I was once abandoned like you, so I can imagine just how scary it was for you being all alone out there in the dark cold night. Just so you know, you are safe with us now. We will love and protect you. You won't be left alone or feel unwanted ever again. I promise." Victoria declared as she lifted the now squeaky clean baby out of the bath, pecking her lightly on the nose as she laid her down on a clean dry towel. The whole time she spoke, the baby never broke eye contact with her. It was as if she was listening to every word she was saying. After making sure the baby was properly dried, Victoria wrapped the baby up snugly, and picked her up holding her securely against her chest.

Turning around unsuspectingly, Victoria gasped in shock and embarrassment when she noticed three people standing quietly by the door all looking at her with different expressions.

"Oh my god! Are you trying to give me a heart attack? How long have you been standing there?" Victoria hissed dramatically while tightening her hold on her baby girl. _Wait. Her baby girl?_ Ignoring that thought, Victoria composed herself and walked over to the bed and gestured for Ashley to bring her the diaper and clothes. While she dressed the baby, occasionally tickling her to get a gummy smile out of her, she could feel the stares of her audience. She ignored them out of embarrassment until she felt familiar strong arms wrap around her waist pulling her back flush against a strong muscular feminine form.

"Babe, don't be embarrassed. You looked so sexy being all maternal and shit." Ruby husked quietly into her ear as she gave her soft pecks along her neck. Victoria shivered at the sensation her girlfriend always manages to ignite in her, and relaxed into her embrace for a moment. The moment was quickly ruined though when she heard the annoying snickers and laughs from the other two adults in the room.

"Shut up you two. Not a single word." Victoria grumbled without turning around to look at them, which only encouraged them to escalate in their immature behaviour. Victoria was just about to give them a piece of her mind when her focus instantly diverted back to the sound of a fussy little cry.

"Aww is someone getting hungry? Come here, baby girl. Let's get you a nice warm bottle of milk." Victoria cooed, ignoring the continuous snickers and laughs from her two immature friends. Picking the baby up, Victoria turned around in Ruby's embrace, giving her a short but passionate kiss before heading towards where Ashley had prepared a formula bottle. After checking the quantity and temperature of the milk, Victoria settled down on a chair finding a comfortable position for both herself and the baby, then proceeded to feed the fussing baby. As the baby suckled the milk hungrily, her eyes stayed connected to Victoria's. It was almost hypnotic. And the moment she felt chubby little fingers grip around her own finger, she was a total goner. It was as if this little beauty had just gripped onto her heart, securing a place where she once felt empty.


End file.
